Telstra, Optus among NBN trial providers

After years of development the $35.9 billion national broadband network is finally ready to start offering high-speed internet to mainland Australian customers.

An initial batch of 12 companies will provide services to end-users in homes and businesses at five key sites in Armidale, Townsville, Brunswick, Kiama Downs and Willunga.

Armidale residents are set to be the first in mainland Australia to get active NBN services.

Four companies that offered services in NBN Co’s Tasmanian trial, Internode, iPrimus, iiNet and Telstra, have already completed the initial “on-boarding" process to offer services and are “NBN-ready".

The other eight companies are AAPT, AARNet, Comscentre, Exetel, Nextgen Networks, Optus, Platform Networks and SkyMesh – none of which are ready to offer services immediately.

According to NBN Co head of product development, Jim Hassell, the RSPs will set the prices charged to end users. The wholesale prices for NBN access and data are the same as what is stated in the controversial business case.

He also claimed the sudden departure of NBN Co head of construction, Patrick Flannigan, would not slow down the completion of the first release site.

“We’re still carrying on [Armidale is finished] and we’ll complete the other four sites over the next couple of months," he told The Australian Financial Review.

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“Dan Flemming was the No.2 to Patrick and was across everything we’re doing so we’re carrying straight on with it."

Customers selected by RSP themselves will be the first to be offered connectivity, followed by hundreds more in the following months.

Customers will initially be offered speeds of up to 140Mbps, with expectation of 1Gbps speeds being available by the end of 2011.

“From the end of September to the end of October we open up the network so anyone in the [connected area] gets to choose whichever RSP they want to ... and at that point the more RSPs the merrier," Mr Hassell said.

He said this meant around 13,000 premises would be connectable on top of those joining NBN Co’s satellite services, which begin in mid-2011.

“The NBN is an open-access wholesale network [and] we will provide access to the network, and its connected customers, to any qualified retail service provider," he said.